Colorado Avalanche left wing Andrew Agozzino, front, reacts after scoring a goal as Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Malcolm Subban reacts in the second period of an NHL hockey game Monday, Feb. 18, 2019, in Denver.

Avalanche forward Andrew Agozzino is “riding’ a 10-game points streak with the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League. And of course, the AHL’s fourth-leading scorer didn’t carry his statistics with him when he was recalled to the NHL team last week.

With his AHL points streak on hold, Agozzino hopes to again prove he belongs in the NHL by playing far less than he did with the Eagles. The AHL all-star went from a first-line forward with the Eagles to a fourth-line center with the Avalanche. Agozzino centered a line with Sven Andrighetto and Gabriel Bourque and logged 7:52 of ice time in Saturday’s 3-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.

While with the white-hot Eagles — who have won six straight games and produced shutouts in their last two — Agozzino was playing around 20 minutes a night.

“It’s not really that crazy. When I’m up there (with the Eagles in Loveland), I play in all situations — penalty kill, all defensive-zone situations. It’s obviously an adjustment with the ice time, but then again, I try to just continue to play the same way, and maybe be a little bit more reliable and don’t take as many risks,” Agozzino said Sunday after an optional practice.

Agozzino, 28, makes a comfortable AHL living with a $300,000 annual salary. But he more than doubles it ($650,000) when he’s with the Avalanche.

But that’s not the main reason he wants to remain in the Denver area.

“I would rather stay here, and we can keep that (AHL points streak) at 10 games as long as we can,” he said. “I’d much rather stay here and be part of an NHL playoff push. I’m just trying to do my job on a nightly basis in whatever role they want me to play.”

The Avs are two points out of a Western Conference playoff position with 13 remaining games. They continue a four-game homestand Monday night against the Carolina Hurricanes, who entered Sunday’s games two points inside of the Eastern Conference playoff cut.

Colorado also hosts the Anaheim Ducks on Friday and the New Jersey Devils on Sunday before beginning a key two-game Central Division trip at Minnesota and Dallas on March 19 and 21.

UND reunion. Avalanche second-year forward Tyson Jost is excited to see his former North Dakota teammates this week, heading into the Fighting Hawks’ NCHC best-of-three playoff series at the University of Denver this weekend. Jost was a UND freshman in 2016-17 before signing with the Avs.

Jost, who celebrates his 21st birthday Thursday, would have been a junior at UND this season.

“They get in on Wednesday,” Jost said of his former teammates. “It will be nice to see those guys and spend some time with them. I spent some time with them last time they were here (Feb. 1-2) when I was rehabbing my shoulder. I had like eight or nine guys over to the house.”

Jost lives with fellow second-year forwards J.T. Compher and Alex Kerfoot, who played at Michigan and Harvard, respectively.

Footnotes. Forward Matt Nieto has ditched his crutches for a soft walking boot. Nieto suffered a leg injury Feb. 22 and was scheduled to miss 4-to-6 weeks. He has a chance to return late this month. … The Avs are on a six-game points streak at home (5-0-1), during which they have climbed to 16-15-6 for the season.

Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic held a season-ending news conference Tuesday, less than a week after his team lost Game 7 of a Western Conference semifinal playoff series to the San Jose Sharks. Sakic touched on numerous important topics -- none more important than re-signing star right winger Mikko Rantanen.